ARTLETS journalism professor Christian Esguerra was named one of the recipients of the 2019 Titus Brandsma Awards, named after a martyred journalist, press freedom fighter and educator of the Carmelite order.
Esguerra, a journalist and anchor at ABS-CBN, will receive the Emergent Leadership in Journalism award in ceremonies on Oct. 28.
“Esguerra is recognized ‘for his abiding efforts to the pursuit of excellence in media reporting with his sharp analysis to interpret the meaning of events and explain the issues in the news that confront Filipinos in these difficult times,” the 2019 Titus Brandsma Awards press release stated.
“He also ‘evangelizes’ his young students by his living witness in the field he teaches that is: political journalism, media ethics and social communication,” it added.
Other awardees are journalists Ed Lingao (Leadership in Journalism), Belina San Buenaventura-Capul (Leadership in Communication and Culture & Arts), Luis Teodoro (Freedom of the Press award), the late Fr. James Reuter, SJ (Lifetime Achievement award) and the late former Department of Environment and Natural Resources secretary Gina Lopez (Leadership in Environmental Communication and Advocacy).
The six awardees were lauded for their “outstanding leadership in the field and embodiment of Brandsma’s principles that guided his life as a journalist, educator and mystic who defended press freedom and right to education.”
Established in 2000, the Titus Brandsma Awards is an award-giving body that recognizes individuals and groups, especially journalists in print and broadcast media for their exemplary work.
The award was instituted in memory of Blessed Titus Brandsma, a martyred Dutch Carmelite friar, scholar and journalist who was imprisoned during World War 2 for declaring the freedom of the press. He was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II in 1985 and is recognized as a “Martyr of Press Freedom.”
The awardees will formally receive their awards in a ceremonial dinner on Oct. 28 at the SM Skydome in Quezon City.
